Apple Not the Only Company Facing Feds on Tech Issues

byJosh Lipton, CNBC

Security experts warn there is little Internet users can do to protect themselves from the recently uncovered "Heartbleed" bug that exposes data to hackers, at least not until vulnerable websites upgrade their software. KACPER PEMPEL / Reuters

The tech giant is dominating the headlines in a standoff over whether to help the FBI access the locked, encrypted iPhone of one of the San Bernardino terrorists.

But this case is just one example of the broader tension that has erupted between tech companies and the Justice Department across a range of national security and criminal issues.

For example, Microsoft's CEO Satya Nadella is fighting the DOJ in a drug-trafficking case. The government is trying to force Microsoft to turn over emails stored in data centers in Ireland as part of the investigation.

Microsoft contends that emails stored in the cloud belong to the customer, with the same privacy protection as paper letters sent by mail. Brad Smith, Microsoft's chief legal officer, has also argued that the U.S. government must have a warrant, but a search warrant cannot reach beyond U.S. shores.

The government counters that Twitter can't publish that report because it contains classified information, and it wants the case dismissed. Twitter told CNBC that the government's motion will be heard in court next month.

One reason for these growing tensions is Edward Snowden, said Patrick Moorhead of Moor Insights & Strategy, a tech research firm.

Snowden's revelations about the NSA generated increased public scrutiny about the relationships between Silicon Valley and U.S. intelligence agencies. Now tech companies are forced to dig in their heels and take on the government in court so their users can be assured that big tech is protecting their data, Moorhead said.